Na cruises to second PGA Tour win at the Greenbrier

Kevin Na won his second PGA Tour title at the Greenbrier Classic and first since 2011. Keel Timmins wraps up the action from TPC Old White

What happened at the Greenbrier?

Kevin Na eased to a five-shot win at the Greenbrier to secure his second career win on the PGA Tour, coming almost seven years after his maiden.

Na, who started the final round one shot adrift of Kelly Kraft, rolled in five birdies in the final six holes of the front-nine to surge into a commanding lead at The Old White TPC.

The 34-year-old has always been seen as a fairly skittish player when in contention, highlighted by a lack of wins in 14 years on tour, his general jumpy nature and a pace of play that often verges on the ridiculous.

But this was a fine effort in closing out a tournament as Na, by his usual standards, looked almost stress-free.

After shooting a front-nine 29, Na opened the back-nine with a birdie and a bogey, and then played his final seven holes in one-under as nobody could get near him.

After hitting his tee shot into the middle of the green at the par-3 18th, he enjoyed a short walk up to the green, playing to the cameras and even finding time to say hello to his family.

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann – the former world No.1 amateur – continues to make the transition to the top of the game looks seamless. The 19-year-old needed a top-20 finish this week to secure his PGA Tour card for the rest of the season. A round of 64 – matching his final-round here last year as an amateur – meant he’d finish tied for fifth and lock his spot on the Tour up with relative ease.

Kraft made a birdie on the 18th to match his best career finish at solo second, while Brandt Snedeker returned to form to finish tied for third along with six others.

Best quote

Talking point

Phil Mickelson on the wrong side of the rules again?

Yep; this time, Lefty called a penalty on himself after improving his line of play on his tee shot at the 7th hole.

Mickelson called a rules official and told them: “I was on the tee box and was going to hit one really low, and there was grass sticking up at the front. So I knocked it down before I hit, so is that an infraction?”

Sure enough, he faced a two-stroke penalty for improving his line of play (violation of Rule 13-2).